Former Facebook and Google Employees are Fighting What They Helped Create

Remember Google’s slogan in their early days? It was “Don’t Be Evil.” Yes, really.

Ok, now that you’ve stopped laughing, you should know that some former employees of both Google and Facebook have started an organization called the Center for Human Technology. Their website states the problem clearly:

What began as a race to monetize our attention is now eroding the pillars of our society: mental health, democracy, social relationships, and our children.

They also see the “way forward” of promoting humane design as having four components:

Inspire Humane Design

Apply Political Pressure

Create a Cultural Awakening

Engage Employees

It gladdens me that smart people who are well-connected are addressing this. Technology can do so much good, but it is also the cause of addictive and vicious behaviors. Watch the Ted Talk of one of the Center for Humane Technology’s co-founders, Tristan Harris, who used to be an in-house ethicist for Google:

He makes it very clear that the big tech companies are manipulating all of us intentionally.